2014 70.3 KS registration is open

In the 'What's next" post he mentioned Galveston, New Orleans or Florida for earlier 70.3 choices. So same price plus travel costs ....

I like Kansas b/c there is no traveling involved, but it would be fun to do a race elsewhere. I don't think I'd ever be ready in April... too hard to get the miles in on the bike.

Reece is correct...those are 3 that I casually looked at. I was looking at something that would roughly land about 12 weeks out from the 1st of the year. I'm not set on a WTC event either, so I'm open to ideas, however it's easy to look at the IM site and see what's there. Travel costs are a consideration, but if I could drive in a day it would be an advantage over flying.

I've taking the week off from any training so really all I've been doing is coming up with dumb ideas for next season, so I may just end up doing the more rational thing and trying out KS 70.3. For some reason I think doing an early season 70.3 will help be with my base training for the rest of the season.

I looked it up, and the price(s) basically haven't changed, although some of the dates on some of the price increases have (but it's basically the same). But, maybe like you, I'm a little more price sensitive of late. However, I'd like to get a half IM in next year. In addition to KS I'm thinking about Racine, Muncie, and Boulder. Also, anyone with experience racing Pigman? It's mid-August and the price looks very nice.

I have done Racine and liked it. Not a bad drive either. Heard good things about pigman but it was 5 years ago, not sure what has changed since then.

Did you try the Rev Series?

The Kansas 70.3 price goes up at midnight tonight, last day at $199.

About to pull the trigger........

Can't wait to see what mishap will keep me out of the race next year......

Wow, thanks Reece. I originally posted that link and then completely forgot about it. Dang. Still in limbo about it....

I'll be there!

I raced the HIM in Marble Falls, Tx last April. I thought it was a great race, in driving distance from wichita. And super cheap if you sign up in advance (last year was $75--haven't looked at next year's prices). I intend to do more HITS races in the future.

Not sure the exact temp, but it was wetsuit legal. Low 70s, I'd guess.

I looked up in an old thread on slowtwitch; the race director indicated a few days ahead of the race that the expected water temp was 67.

Thanks for sharing about that race. I too had not seen it. How was the course? What's the weather like in Austin that time if year?

The swim was fine. No real current in the water. The water isn't very clear, but it's no worse (and a bit better) than any lakes I've been in in Kansas. The first long leg of the rectangular swim is near the shore of a park, so family can walk alongside and cheer.

The bike course is challenging, which I enjoyed. Lots of decent-sized hills. Way more climbing than I'm used to. There was one section of chip-seal road, but it wasn't too bad; otherwise the road surfaces were nice. At that time of year, the hills were all green with lots of wildflowers along the way. It wasn't the Alps, but it was certainly a scenic upgrade over Wichita.

The run course this year followed the bike course, which meant it also was tough. The run and the bike both start with a big, long climb, and I suffered mightily on that part of the run. IIRC, the race director said that he was trying to build goodwill with the City and hoping in future years to change the run course so that it goes through the city (the opposite direction of the bike course).

The weather was really nice--at least it was last year. I think it was mid-70s, light breeze. The year before, I understand, it was pretty breezy, but at least Kansans can prepare for that aspect of the race. It was 5-10 degrees warmer than it was in Wichita at the time, but, at those temperatures, it didn't really seem to affect me.

The race director (Mark Wilson) is a very personable guy. He posts on ST fairly regularly in threads about the HITS races. Last year, he noted that he and his staff were going for a swim the morning before the race, and he invited people to come swim with them. I took him up on the offer and appreciated the chance to get a little OWS practice. Mark gives out his personal cell phone number so that family members can be in touch if they're worried about their athlete. HITS really tries to put on a great event for the athlete, and I really enjoyed it.

The 70.3 had 150-200 people, but there was only a handful for the 140.6, so I'm sure those folks got a bit lonely out on the course. There aren't crowd-lined streets and throngs of supporters along the way, and not much swag beyond the race shirt, so if that's what you're looking for, you won't find it in this race. But if you're okay with smaller races, I thought this was a fun one. I'm doing IMTX in the spring, so I can't repeat this one next year, but I'll probably go back in the future.

Just registered for the race a couple of days ago. It will be my first HIM after a my first year in the sport doing some springs and Oly distances. I did the 5150 there last year and the hill on the backside of the damn kicked my a@@ but other than that it was great. Training to get the 13.1 mi run started today! Swim and bike distances are a little easier for me to build to. Hope to see some of ya there.